Bathroom humor ahead, in case you missed the headline.
When my organization is on-boarding new members, my Public Affairs team teaches a brief class about clear and effective communication.
Heading into one of these Wednesday afternoon discussions, I noticed a new sign hanging in the men’s room (recreated below). Inspired, I moved the sign to the front of the classroom and revised all my talking points on the fly. Let’s visit each of these points, here.
“STOP URINATING ON THE FLOOR!” — Start with why, am I right? The author has a specific effect in mind, and clearly leads with the action his audience must take. There is no doubt why this sign was created.
“The urinal does not overflow when flushed.” — That wet floor? Yeah, we all know it’s pee, not flush water that dripped over the edge. This is just enough background and context; the only amplifying detail readers need to achieve shared understanding about the (literal) ground conditions.
Blank space — The rest of the page is blank. The writer got off the X! He could’ve gone on with line after line about unsanitary conditions, professional expectations, maybe even some instructions. Instead, he said only what needed to be said to achieve an effect, without wasting time or effort on needless words.
Brief, effective communication for purpose. It’s how we keep our bathroom floors safe; let’s employ the same techniques to keep America safe.
(Photo by David McNally, DVIDS)
